SUMMER IN TOWN

I do find myself reminded of YES while listening to this album; not just for the Howe-esque guitars but also for their method of resolving instrumental almost-chaos into a majestic finale- both "Snowballs" and "Chaconne" do this quite well, for instance ( although I thought a chaconne was supposed to be in 3/4, like a waltz...but the guitar regularly plays in threes, so...oh, never mind. It sounds good). While I was never quite brought to rapture by the music, it does have a unique courtly cacophony that can be surprisingly emotive at times. The title track has a (possibly unintentional) odd undertone of humor, with the wavering synth and ponderous feel- "Clockwork Orange" fans may well have flashbacks. The noisy synth madness in the second half of this song could almost be an APHEX TWIN precursor, but the monotonous fade out afterwards taxes the patience somewhat. It is redeemed slightly with a tinkling, flutey flourish at the end, but overall leaves an unsatifsied aftertaste. Maybe I just hate being denied closure, but both "Snowballs" and "Chaconne" seem much more like complete compositions. My only other complaint is that the production seems quite 80s (well it would, wouldn't it?) and the processed sheen clashes with the organic flow a bit, as does the occasional poorly-chosen synth sound- but these are relatively minor gripes about an otherwise refreshingly original style. Russian culture has a long history of geniuses who use their Western European influence in truly original ways; while HORIZONT is not quite Prokofiev or Tchaikovsky, their unique take on rock and avant-garde classical is deserving of a listen or two.